Minotaur
by Imma Diva
Summary: This story tells of the Minotaur from the Minotaur's point of view- it's not all that it seems. Who is the Minotaur? Did Theseus really kill the Minotaur? Was Ariadne really in love with Theseus? Read to find out!
1. Chapter 1

Minotaur The untold story of the creature of legends Part One

He stared up at the young, handsome hero. Yes, he had waited so long for this blissful release, and now it was only seconds away "NO!" screamed the auburn-haired beauty in the corner. For years he had waited for her to say those words to the cruel interactions of those who considered him a freak.

Six years earlier

"Come now, princess," he looked up from where he and the girl knelt by a baby lamb. "'tis time to go." The handmaiden reached for the little girl's hand.

"But I want to stay with Asterios!" Protested the little, auburn haired princess, pouting beside the lump next to her. The lump was a gentle giant that would soon be known as a beast of the Labyrinth. The twelve-year-old reluctantly stood at the urging of her maid.

"I'll be back when I can get away," she managed to whisper to him before she was dragged away. He watched them; the maid leaned over to keep holding the still chubby, perfect hand that belonged to the beautiful princess of Crete.

He was still unsure how he felt and why he felt, but he did know a few things:

He was sixteen years old, by human years.

He was locked in a cage every day when he wasn't out on his walks with the little princess… although there were two dozen guards guarding against his imminent temper.

And he was also a freak; a curse of the guards; a plague against his parents.

He also knew that he was the reason that the Athens thought he ate their children. He knew that his step-father, Minos, had the Athens send fourteen youths, (seven boys, and seven girls,) to be 'eaten' by the 'terrible' monster of Crete.

He knew that his step-father had only made that lie up to protect against the more powerful Athens army.

He also knew that he had never, not ever, eaten a human being.

He also knew that his temper was famed; he knew that anything could set him off.

He knew that the little princess walked with him as a way to rebel against his parents.

He knew that she was an adopted daughter of Crete, not a true offspring of Minos and Pasiphae.

He knew he had some strange feelings for her that he couldn't explain.

He willingly lumbered back to his cage while the guards encircled him.

He knew he was strong enough to take all guards down with little pain to himself, but he didn't; he knew if he did, he might not see Ariadne tomorrow.

Four years earlier

Ariadne laughed, a sound that blessed his ears.

"Come now, Asterios! You can catch me; I know you can! You can't let me win _all_ the time!" He followed her at his lumbering trot, complying with her request to snatch her up gently by her slender waist.

"Happy now?" He grunted teasingly. She shrieked joyfully.

"Asterios!" He loved it when she said his true name; the only one, actually. Even he thought of himself as Minotauros. "Not the water!" she giggled happily; this meant, "Throw me in the water!" He obeyed.

With a splash, she landed in the dead center of the pond that was overlooked by Minos' castle.

"Come in! The water's brilliant!" He leaped. He landed right next to her. "Asterios!"

"Happy now," He asked, ducking her head under the water's glittering blue surface.

"Never," she answered, rising up and, cupping her hands, splashed him. He sent a wave after her. She was swamped. "Asterios!" The tone of her voice was different, scared. He instantly looked for her. Then he saw it; the wolf approached her from where she lay on the shore of the pond. The wave had sent her tumbling head over heels straight to the predator; his fault.

This was no ordinary wolf; this was a dire wolf, larger than life with black, heavy fur, beady eyes, and fangs stained with previous meals.

He began to slowly move through the water, hardly making a ripple, which was stunning for a creature his size.

"Asterios," she whispered, her voice barely a breath, but his ears were incredibly sensitive. "Please,"

He lunged just as the wolf did. With a yelp like a whimper, he caught the overgrown dog in the midriff and threw it back. He felt himself changing; his rage startled him when he saw that the wolf had managed to catch her cheek with a claw. It bubbled up in him, erupting in a roar of fury.

The wolf was hungry. He could sense its thoughts as it came closer. He struggled with the beast inside. He could control it; he would.

"Asterios!"

He whirled; while he had been preoccupied with the animal inside him, the one on the outside had crept up and cornered Ariadne in a corner.

"NO!" He roared, and lost any control he'd had; he felt his skin stretch and break open like an over-ripe grape. Horns burst from his forehead as fur spread down his face and neck. His muscles rippled, and he doubled in size. He pawed at the ground with a hoof. He charged, bellowing like a bull.

He scooped up the wolf and threw it back into the forest. It skulked to its paws and circled to hide behind thick-trunked trees. He waited, and bellowed. Then he lost patience. He followed it.

He yelled in pain as it landed on his back from a boulder just behind him. Claws dug into his fur-covered shoulder blades and scrabbled at his hips. He reached behind him, ignoring the jaws that snapped at his hands, and grasped the wolfs neck fur. He hurled it off, and slammed it into the ground.

He then scooped it back up and began to pull, one hand on its neck, the other grasping its tail.

With a snapping sound, the wolf's spine was pulled apart as its skin separated and he held two distinct halves of wolf now, blood dripping and fur clinging to patches of dried sweat and blood.

"Asterios?" The voice was soft and foreign to him in his rage of red. He whirled, flinging the wolf parts to the ground. He threw back his head and bawled, lifting his blood covered hands to the sky, claiming his kill.

"MY LADY!" Guards came thundering to them. "You're not safe here; quick leave the beast to his kill. My lady please, he may hurt you… he is not himself."

"He is not a beast!" Shouted Ariadne. The noise confused him. He bellowed. They all froze. He looked at them, breathing heavily, his thoughts breaking apart and coming too rapidly and sporadically for him to get a hold on them. One thought came to him though, repeating. _Ariadne, not Ariadne; gogogogogogogogo. He went._

Two years earlier

"You don't come to see me very much anymore."

"I am very busy, as you may very well know,"

"Who was that prince you were with?"

"Why would you care?"

"I did not like the way you let him touch you,"

"So? What is it to you?"

"I-I don't want you to get hurt, or—or,"

"Or what? What do you care what happens to me? I can do whatever I want with whomever I want and you cannot dictate who or what I do with whom!"

"I-I just think he wants more than you can give."

"So? What if I want to give it to him?"

"… You don't mean that."

"What if I do?"

"… I can tell you don't. What is it with you and the wrong kinds of people? That man—that beast! He—I could read his thoughts, Ariadne. He wanted something and I know you didn't want to give it to him."

"Did you read my thoughts? I _know_ you didn't. I know you wouldn't…."

"… I'm sorry."

"You did! O gods! What will I do with you?"

"Please, Ariadne, that beast—"

"AND YOU WOULD KNOW SO MUCH ABOUT WHAT MAKES A BEAST I SUPPOSE!"

"…"

"Oh, but that's right, you would, wouldn't you? Who would know better than a half bull?"

"…"

"I'm sorry. Please, don't go… I'm sorry… Asterios!

"…You're right; I guess I don't know about beasts; especially not that kind of beast, Ariadne. I would never, ever do something to you you didn't want me to do. I've—I wouldn't—Ariadne I…"

"O, wait Asterios! COME BACK!"

One Year Earlier

The maze twisted out of sight before and behind him, branching and winding incredibly confusingly. He smiled. He lifted his nose to get a smell; there.

He followed the scent down a side trail, his bare feet making no noise on the packed dirt floor that made up all of that of the labyrinth's.

Over the years, he had learned to control his immense temper, and even managed to control his changing. Now he only changed once a month, during the full moon. He timed it so that it was consistent so that all of Crete would know to stay indoors in case he managed to escape the Labyrinth.

He made another turn and paused. Where—?

He heard a voice suddenly; was she still playing? Who was she talking to?

"My lord…" He had never heard her voice like that before; light and flirtatious.

"Ariadne, blossom of Crete… who would expect us to meet in the beast's cage," He heard a twinge in her mind, but she let the term slip.

"I know; I know how to do… lots of things." He heard something suggestive in her words.

Silence; even though he couldn't see, he knew from their thoughts. With a bellow he lunged into the dead end where she and the lord were situated.

With a flash, he saw through her eyes; muscled torso, uncovered, slightly sweaty, dirty, and streaked with soot. His soft brown hair matched his twinkling eyes, now dark with rage; he was much taller that the lord, and looked so much more… direct.

He blinked, and was back in his own mind.

"Asterios! What—what do you mean by this?" Ariadne sputtered, pushing away the lord.

"I could ask you the same thing," He murmured, keeping his eyes on the lord, who whipped his mouth and took a step forward.

"Who are you?" He asked, straightening his jacket.

"Not of your concern," He replied evenly.

"Do you know who I am?"

"Do I care?"

"Why you—Ariadne! Look away while I take care of the insolent slave!"

"That isn't wise,"

"Do not dictate to me what or what is not wise! I will teach you a lesson or two you bast-."

He didn't let him finish the vile word. He looked back at Ariadne.

"Please get him away from here before I lose my temper," He said. Ariadne watched him for a moment, before her eyes widened in fear.

"My lord, please," She whispered, and the tenderness in her voice and touch sent a cold fist into his stomach. "You must go… he—he is not like you or I he-."

"Insolent woman!" He threw her away from him, so hard and suddenly that she hit a wall of the maze and slid down, dazed. He felt rage boil up, his skin starting to bubble slightly.

"That was not wise," He told the lord, feeling his muscles begin to grow and double in strength and size. "You may fight me, but you will never, ever, again touch or hurt her. EVER!" He felt the man's fear even as he saw red.

"WHY! Why must you always get between me and the men I like?" She was brushing her hair as he took a bath, the door to the bathroom cracked open so he could hear her. He ducked under water to wash his dirty hair.

"I mean— gods! I need to have some life without you interfering!"

"Is that what you call having a life? You do not understand the joy of living, of picking flowers and making things with your bare hands; life when you breathe fresh air and be with loved ones. I know that you have been a bad little princess recently." His voice took on a careful tone. "I hear you have become reckless, careless, irresponsible, and wild."

"And where do you hear this from?"

"Not from you; you never visit me anymore. Not since…" He trailed off, fearing to mention their last angered conversation. He stepped out of the tub and toweled himself down briskly.

"Asterios I—"

He stepped into his breeches. He pulled on his tunic, and stepped out of the bathroom.

"Why?" She finally asked him.

"Do you honestly not know? All these years? Gods, you are unobservant." He looked down at her, her face so open, so soft and pale and sweet, and felt a feeling he couldn't control that he hadn't felt since that day he had ripped apart the wolf; a feeling quite different from rage. He bent to her face, and just as he'd seen several people in the palace do, kissed her lips softly.

She hesitated, then kissed him back. Her hand brushed against his cheek, and then gripped both sides of his face, holding him to her. He felt her thoughts, felt that this was what she had been missing, had been longing for all those times she'd been reckless and wild. He pulled her to her feet and pulled away.

"I—I never—I didn't—I'm sorry I never knew," Ariadne rested her head against his chest. He felt so much happier. She wanted him, too.

Six Months Earlier

It was time for the Athens to come. It had become custom to set the tributes free in the maze and have him scare them; he never killed any of them though, and never allowed himself to change. He was so much happier now, that he didn't even mind scaring them this year.

He and Ariadne took walks all the time now, sometimes talking, sometimes kissing, always enjoying being near one another. He held her tight at night when she cried; he didn't sleep and she had nightmares, so sometimes she'd come outside to the clearing where he slept and lie next to him. He had told her the first she came to his clearing that he refused to indulge in marital desires before they were married. She agreed, and slept better when she was with him.

His life was better, and he never lost his temper around her unless she was in danger; he was better than he had been in… forever.

The day the Athens were to arrive came. Ariadne stood next to him as he watched from her window, preparing for that night when he would enter the maze to fulfill tradition.

She touched his cheek; "You'll be fine; it'll be different this year, I promise." She kissed his neck and went to her mirror, brushing her hair into a long plait so that she could wind it atop her head. She was to get ready for her own tradition as the priestess of the Minotaur.

"I don't know—I feel—different this year… something wrong is going to happen. I can feel it." He murmured as he watched the Athens' boat dock. His excellent eyesight helped him to see the faces of the woeful youths who expected to meet their end in the maze. One looked strangely familiar…

She was behind him again. "I asked father; he says that after this year, he will say the Minotaur died; then we can be together as a married couple…" There was that suggestive tone again. He still didn't know what that meant. She turned him to her and kissed him softly, sweetly, drawing it out so that he kind of knew what she meant.

"I need to get ready; so do you. I will see you tonight, Asterios." She kissed him again, and then he left.

Ariadne

Ariadne crossed her shawl across her bare chest and tucked the edges of the shawl into the opposite side of her skirt. She looked into her looking glass and saw a priestess watching her.

Her hair was pulled in a spiraling dome of brown curls; lose strands brushed her shoulders and the longest of which trailed down her back. Pearls threaded through her curly locks and her tunic and skirt were of the traditional white draped fashion of all the priestess' before her. She wore gold bracelets running all the way up her arms and legs, each studded with emeralds, rubies, and sapphires. Herr eyes were outlined in kohl and powdered colors. She had oiled her whole body so that it shinned attractively in the lamp-light.

She was ready.

"My Lady? There is a gentleman here to see you," a hand maiden called from her doorway.

Ariadne grinned; Asterios obviously couldn't stay away. "See him in."

The man entered. She turned, portraying her outfit to full effect, tilting her head back. "What do you think Aster-." She opened her eyes and gasped. "Theseus!"

"O gods!" She gasped, covering herself with a spare bit of cloth.

"I think, that you look… beautiful." His eyes roved all over her as he stepped closer.

"Theseus… what are you doing here?" She was breathless. Why he was here was what she wanted to ask him.

"I came to defeat the beast that defeated me years ago. He shan't be in our way anymore, fair Ariadne. We shall be wed as we talked of all those years ago—never fear." He took another step forward.

Ariadne took a step back. He grinned like a wolf.

"Why so tentative, Sweet Ariadne? You most certainly weren't so when last we met."

"What do you mean, 'defeat the beast that defeated me'?" Ariadne shook her head, trying to make sense of what he had said, and what he was doing and—

"Wait! You don't mean to k-kill Ast—the Minotaur, do you? O gods!" She sank onto the sofa that rested flush against one wall. Her heart beat erratically.

_This can't be happening. Asterios! _

She gasped as she realized that Theseus was now directly in front of her; her pure horror in what she was understanding had, for a moment, wiped everything else out of her mind.

"Love?" His eyes were now not only cocky and lustful, but also confused. Ariadne looked at him—truly looked at him—and didn't see the handsome, dashing young man she had thought she once loved. She saw a man who saw a prize he couldn't have, and who needed to have it. She saw his concern in only the fact of her horror—he thought her horrified at the procpect of him. This, in fact, was true.

Ariadne was truly horrified at what he professed that he was going to do.

He meant to kill the Minotaur.

He meant to kill Asterios.

Theseus

He sat in wait, enjoying the feeling he always got before the hunt. He had told the rest of the Athenians to wait by the entrance. He had even asked one of the servants to hand him his sword and a piece of string. The servant had laughed at him before handing him the essentials.

Laughed at _him_.

He would show that incredulous servant that he could kill the beast that had once embarrassed him in front of the lovely Ariadne.

Beautiful Ariadne, he paused to think about her for a moment, remembering her lips and her smile and her winks and words—O! he just _had to have her._

And he would.

Just as soon as he killed the monster.

Thinking of Ariadne and the monster, he remembered what she had said before he'd locked her in her chambers.

_"You know that he doesn't actually kill them, don't you?"_

_ "He wouldn't dare hurt anyone on purpose—he's gotten so much better at controlling his temper! He even controls when he changes now!"_

_ "Yes. Yes I do love him. He is mine. I am his. This means that you cannot kill him! For if you did, it would surely kill me."_

_ "You can never beat him! He is stronger than a dozen men and oxen; he is blessed with intelligence by Athena herself; he is blessed by Ares in the arts of fighting; Nike has given him the gift of victory. What do you have that is so much better? How do you know that he shan't kill you?" _

That last comment had stung. _You cannot beat him. _O, he would show her. He would show her just how dangerous he was.

And the fact that she'd said that she _loved_ him? What an idiotic girl-child. She did not understand true love, what it felt like and who it should be with. He knew that he could win her over if he just impressed her by the enormous feat of killing her would be 'lover'. Ha!

"What do I have to defeat the beast?" He asked the maze itself. "I have my father's blessing."

And he pelted into the maze, with a roar that echoed around the chamber.

FOR MY FATHER!

_ZEUS!_

Minotaur

He heard the human's cry echo around him.

It was faint, and he thought the pitiful creature had cried something about Zeus, but that was impossible; he was the half-bred, creature of destruction blessed by the gods and goddess'; strength, victory, intelligence, beauty, (When he was not as a beast,) heart, and a thirst for blood. He would never lose, for Zeus himself had blessed him.

He would scare the human, he decided. He needed a laugh. Besides, he'd promised himself and Ariadne that he wouldn't kill any one. He chuckled to himself as he felt his skin ripple as he changed; that didn't he couldn't have a little fun scaring some idiot Athenian witless.

Omni

Theseus couldn't see where he was going.

_Where is he?_

Asterios watched the human with a smirk marring his bull's face.

_Where does he think he's going?_

Ariadne pounded on her door, screaming for someone to unlock the door and let her out.

_Where is everyone?_

Theseus felt something against the back of his neck, but thought nothing of it.

Asterios blew a soft gush of breath against the human's neck. The human smelled familiar, but he thought nothing of it.

A maid passed by Lady Ariadne's rooms. She heard a soft thump and a squeal from inside, but thought nothing of it. Except to wonder why she could never have fun like that.

Theseus felt something cold and wet against his arm.

Asterios touched his cold nose against the human's elbow.

Ariadne threw open the window and looked down at the lake below her. Soft landing… maybe.

Theseus whirled. "WHOA!"

Asterios reared back, recognizing the human. "WHOA!"

Ariadne leaped from her window sill to the lake below. "WHOA!"

Theseus regained his control. "Fight foul beast; I'll teach you to interrupt a lord and his princess!"

Asterios laughed, suddenly forgetting his control on his temper and all about his promises. "Your princess? We shall see, THESEUS!" He bellowed.

Ariadne was wet but she didn't care. Where was Asterios and—a bull's bellow rent the air; THESEUS! _The maze!_

Theseus was no match for the beast raging toward him. He felt himself being picked up and thrown.

Asterios smiled at the crunch Theseus made against the wall. This would be fun.

Ariadne ran, forgetting about the looks she was getting from people who were waiting for the festival to begin.

Theseus slowly got up, feeling his body groan—that was going to leave a big mark.

Asterios laughed and gestured toward him. "Come, tiny human; I will show you hell."

Ariadne burst through the doorway that led to the maze. Where were they?

Theseus lunged between the Minotaur's legs and jabbed him with the knife he'd strapped to his back in the leg.

Asterios felt pain in his calf. _The stupid human had hit him! How?_

Ariadne stepped forward, intending to run into the maze even though she'd no idea where she was going. She bumped something round and soft on the ground.

Theseus yelped as he was picked up by the hair and thrown back into the ground.

Asterios bellowed, ready to finish what he'd started those many years ago.

Ariadne raced along, the ball of string in her hand, quickly winding the thread back as she followed it.

Theseus felt a tug on his ankle, and looked. His ball of string!

Asterios began to approach the human who'd made him so jealous and who would be nothing but a disgusting memory.

Ariadne heard a soft whimper and a growl just around the corner. "ASTERIOS!"

Theseus began to slowly pull himself along the ground toward the entrance to their dead end.

Asterios laughed as he bent his head, pawing his hoof against the ground in the universal sign that said; _I'm going to kick your butt. Prepare yourself for serious pain. _"ASTERIOS!" he froze.

Ariadne burst into a dead end, and saw Theseus prone at her feet and Asterios in full Minotaur-form, reading himself to charge the prostrate Theseus.

Theseus saw his chance; while the princess and beast looked each other deep in the eye, he used the last of his strength and leaped to his feet, yanking Ariadne in front of him.

Asterios saw the knife, the manic gleam in Theseus' eye, and he didn't care anymore. "DIE!"

Ariadne felt a cold kiss of metal across her wind-pipe. She had been so locked in the battle of wills with Asterios that she hadn't even noticed Theseus.

Theseus felt true fear as the Minotaur charged.

He was going to kill the sniveling pampered-mama's boy.

"ASTERIOS, NO!"

Theseus watched as the creature of death froze before him.

Asterios froze; he remembered Ariadne standing between him and his target. O gods curse it all!

Ariadne exhaled slowly. "Breathe Asterios, please."

Theseus saw his way out. "I'm leaving now, and I'm taking her with me. Don't follow or she dies!"

Asterios growled low in his throat. "Over my dead body!"

Ariadne shook her head as emphatically as she could with a knife pressed tight against her throat. "No! You can't; he'll just kill you and anyone else if you do follow. I don't care about me; I can't stand to have you hurt. Stay; you—you need to. Please?"

Theseus waited with baited breath as Ariadne shook against him.

"I won't let him take you!"

Ariadne had one course of action left to her. "I love him Asterios; I—I thought I loved you, b—but I was wrong. Let me g-go with him. I have n—no need for you anymore."

Theseus felt the thrill of victory at the sight of the beast's heart breaking in his eyes.

…

"I'm so sorry, Asterios…"

Not the End … Yet

He watched the man he hated drag the women he loved—whom he thought had loved him— away.

In all his life—not even when he'd kept the secret of his love hidden, not when he'd lost control of his temper and felt the guilt of killing after—had he felt such deep, wrenching, heart-shattering pain before.

He felt the world fall to pieces around him.

_"I love him Asterios; I—I thought I loved you, b—but I was wrong. Let me g-go with him. I have n—no need for you anymore."_

Her words echoed in his head as he watched his life walk away with him. They cut deeper than Theseus' sword had, cut deeper than anything ever before. He had known what pain was.

At least he had thought he had.

Don't despair yet

It's not over yet.

There's still a second part.

Want to know what happens next?

You'll get part two—coming soon!

Let's get some feedback—

Constructive criticism please!

—Imma Diva


	2. Chapter 2

**Minotaur**

**Part Two**

Realize

What had he left to live for?

It had been nearly a month since his love had left him with the bottom-feeder of all mankind, Theseus, son of Zeus.

How could she do this to him?

He had thought she loved him.

Apparently, he'd thought wrong.

_"I love him Asterios; I—I thought I loved you, b—but I was wrong. Let me g-go with him. I have n—no need for you anymore."_

Minos and Pasiphae had spread the word that the Minotaur had died. They no longer had any fear that Athens would attack them, since Athens was losing ground to another country, and was too wrapped up in that battle to care.

Asterios watched the world pass by in a multitude of colors; watched as people had worried about _where had Ariadne gone?_

He told them nothing.

In fact, he hadn't spoken since that last, wordless, heart-broken cry he'd uttered as they had left him in the heart of his maze.

In fact, he hardly ever left his maze any more.

For the first few days, servants and slaves, even his adopted father, had come to see what was the matter with the fright that had been Crete's stronghold for so many years.

He was ashamed now to say that he had chased them all away.

He was always in his Minotaur form now.

He had no reason to be his normal, handsome self. Ariadne hadn't loved him—in either form. Why bother with looking handsome when there was no one to impress? No one to try for?

He killed now, just for the fun of it.

Servants let live deer, bears, and wolves into his maze. There was probably a whole population skulking in the shadows of his maze. It did not matter where they hid.

He could always hear their thoughts.

He was one with the maze now, as he had once been with Ariadne.

_No more._

He woke up just like any other day.

Except today, he was outside.

_I do not remember hunting outside yesterday…_

He was confused… until he noticed the cage wrapping around him. And Minos watching him from outside of it.

Understanding dawned on him as he straightened into a sitting position. He bellowed in rage; they had taken him when he had been sleeping and carried him (he had no idea how) out to this—this—this CAGE!

With a roar, he exploded into full-on Minotaur form. He screamed his fury at the sky, which opposed him with a bright blue, cloudless back drop and the sight of the sun blazing down at him. He thrashed against the thick metal bars, easily gripping them and bending them sideways, beginning to force a hole in them big enough for him to get through and rip everyone apart.

"Asterios, STOP!" It was the sound of his name coming from the mouth of a man who had, for his whole life, only called him 'Minotaur'. He halted, eyes searching his adopted father's, studying them for the first time since Ariadne had left. He felt something inside… something that had been chilled by the solid cold lump that had once been his heart.

A different kind of love and sympathetic remorse for what he was that he hadn't felt for any human being since she left.

A father-son love that he had not even tried to express. How he must look, beefy and muscled, large and hairy, roaring and showing teeth, ripping apart a cage that could have held seven elephants in a rage, easily.

He felt remorse curdle in his stomach and heat his cheeks, which, covered in hair, was not noticeable.

For the first time since Ariadne had left, he let go of all his anger in a whoosh of air that left him in regret for his actions.

"Father… I—I'm sorry, I didn't mean—" he bent his head, feeling embarrassed for his behavior in all this time.

His father shook his head, quiet fury sparking in his eyes. "I will forgive you when you tell me of where. My. Daughter. Is! I have been driving myself crazy, worrying about you and about my absent daughter! Where. Is she?!"

Asterios lifted his head and finally let go of the Minotaur form and became human again. He gripped the mangled bars in his small human hands. "What do you want me to do? I can't get her back, she left me for him and that's it. End of story. She's gone, just—just gone, father. And she left me for him. Left me. Just… gone." He felt his voice break on the last word, and all the pain and anguish erupt through him. He longed to scream it out as he had when she'd first left him. But he couldn't. There was nothing left.

A hand on his head, buried in his hair, made him look up. His father, shaking with silent sobs, leaned against the bars and supported his hand on his adopted son's head. It was one of the only times his father had shown him any sort of physical affection.

"I know you love her… I do too… b-but I can't help you if you won't l-let me," Minos whispered, voice shaking with wracking torment. "But I _need_ you to tell me where she is so I can get the people who took her and _strangle_ them! Tell me! P-please," His voice trailed off into a whisper.

Asterios couldn't let that small bit of information pass his lips. He knew that if he did, he couldn't take it back. It would become irrevocably true. It would never be a nightmare that he could laugh about later. It would become a sad, pain-filled anguish that would take the edges of the hole in his heart and jerk in opposite directions. He couldn't—he just—

"He took her… he took her!" Asterios shouted the words, feeling them rip a new hole in his chest. He suddenly couldn't breathe. "Why?" He whispered. "Why?"

The sun shone brighter that day than it had any other. But inside the King's chamber, it was dark and cold and sad as Asterios told the king the entire story of him and Ariadne. About how'd she sneak out in the middle of the night when she was young to play games with him; how she'd fooled around with a man so unworthy that Asterios couldn't control his anger. How she'd finally found out how he'd felt about her. How she felt about him. How she left him. Words like daggers, still securely plunged in his torn heart. How he couldn't live without her. How he couldn't live with the memory of her kiss, her touch, her voice and intelligence, knowing it wasn't his anymore.

His story finished, Asterios waited, feeling the weight of his words in the room. The quiet from his father made him nervous—was he angry? Asterios did something he hadn't done in a very long time to a human. He opened his mind. _Poor boy; doesn't even recognize a lie. _

"Lie? What Lie?" Asterios forgot himself for a moment. His father just looked up, apparently not upset that Asterios had read his mind. "She lied to protect you, Asterios. She didn't love him—she loved you, and that's why she couldn't let you follow her. She had to make sure you'd believe that she didn't love you to stop you coming after her. You silly boy—she loved you so much she couldn't risk letting you get hurt!"

Asterios felt the truth of those words sink deep into his heart and burrow there. The realization flooded over him. Silly Girl! "NO!" He felt his anger as a fleeting bird through his stomach to his head. Then he relaxed again, solidly in his human form. "I have to go after her. She can't stay with that vile man."

His father nodded, feeling the truth of those words too. "I shall supply you with a fleet of men and—" Asterios cut him off. "No—we don't want another Trojan war, do we? Just give me a boat, a small crew; we will go as merchants to save her. Small little party. We shall destroy him. I swear it father, I swear!"

Athens

The wind ruffled his hair.

Six weeks at sea had sat well with Asterios. He felt ready. Athens stretched out in front of him in a blanket rumpled with cities and buildings, roads and merchants and people, walking, running and riding horses.

"Sir," the captain was behind him, watching him warily. Asterios felt another stab of guilt at the man's wary expression, but shook it off. "Yes?"

"We're ready for tonight, and, well, we were wondering—do you have a plan you're willing to share with us?" The captain continued to look cautious. Asterios felt a grimace ripple across his face before he could conceal it. He had forgotten to tell the captain that only he, Asterios, would be launching an attack. This would be a specific little sneak attack. Not a thing needing more than one and he didn't intend to bring anyone else. He forced a smile. "I'll let you know before we leave," The best plan of action was to drug all the men during dinner—he had some special herbs in his quarters that would drug them for a few hours, putting them asleep long enough for him to go after Ariadne and return. They would be awake enough to help him sail away.

The man looked relieved and nodded his grim thanks.

**ARIADNE—Two Days Earlier**

He watched her as she picked at her dinner. A month had come and gone and she still felt the ache of lose deep in her chest. Another three days and she would be married to the horrible man who watched without comment as she picked at her food. She'd been doing this for two weeks—she'd been unable to make herself force the food down her throat.

Everything here made her disgusted; the citizens, although appearances were wonderful, actually were poor and ill-fed, unhealthy and overworked. It made her ashamed to be living in such cold splendor and eating such luxurious food and having such good health when those without needed it more than she. And it irritated her to see all that Theseus' people spent when they could be giving it to the needy.

"You've hardly touched your dinner, Love; is it unappealing to you? Shall I ask the cook for something more to your taste?" Theseus' voice sent a chill of dislike down Ariadne's spine. She straightened and looked him straight in the eye. "I'm not hungry." She told him defiantly.

His eyes flashed. Ariadne couldn't help it; she looked away. He smiled in triumph and said, falsely cordial: "Well, if you're not eating, you must be ill—should I call for the doctor? Yes? No," He leaned back as Ariadne quickly shook her head; she did not like his doctor; he poked, prodded, and used black magic to make those ill well. She refused to comply with this comment.

"I'm fine!" She snapped, haughtily, trying to cover up her fear.

His smile was slow and ghastly with triumph. "Then you should eat; we have just three short days before our joining, and I want to make sure my bride is fully healthy and—capable—on that night."

Ariadne could see no way out of this situation without causing an argument—besides, it was a silly one at that. If she was going to escape, then she would need all the strength she could get. Resigned, she speared a piece of fried duck and slipped it between her lips.

Theseus watched with a hunger that had nothing to do with food.

Ariadne remembered the way another certain man used to look at her—like she were the treasure of all worlds, and how he had no idea why she was there before him, but loving her for all that she was—rather than she was another trophy about to be put up on his mantel.

_O Asterios—I miss you!_

**ASTERIOS—PRESENT TIME**

The night was cool and calm, flooding the city with a cold that most people would curse at. They had no warm shelter to guard them against it. He watched the dark line that was the beach that separated Athens from his ship. His men watched him curiously, cautiously; they still believed all the stories about him being a wrathful monster. Those stories hadn't been that far off the past month.

"Let's have a toast, before we go ashore—To Ariadne, and to bringing her back!" Asterios called, showing them barrels full of wine, some of the finest in his father's stores. The men looked slightly less cautious but still ravenously curious. They crowded around and poured wine into wooden cups that had been supplied at Asterios' words. When offered one himself, he shook his head and said, "If I were to have a drink, I would not be able to control myself as well as I do now." The men backed off after that.

"To Ariadne, and to bringing her back to where she belongs!" The men growled in a low, whispery roar that was half-hearted. Their leader's refusal to drink with them set them curious. Well, more curious.

Asterios watched as all men took a healthy gulp of wine. He made sure every last one of them, even the cabin boy, had at least a sip. That was all it would take.

He then told them to all go below decks for an hour, as night was not yet fully upon them. The men did, grumbling quietly amongst themselves. As they did, Asterios himself returned to his room to prepare himself.

He would need nothing but himself, but he needed to take a few moment's peace to ready himself from seeing the man he hated and the woman he loved again. Both had broken his heart—one would pay. As he thought, he gathered his writing utensils and wrote a brief note to the crew for when they awoke.

I had to go by myself.

It is too dangerous for all of you, and I can do better by myself.

I shall be back at first light of dawn.

If I am not, sail home without me.

I will have been unsuccessful if this happens.

Please forgive me.

I meant only to protect men loyal to my father from the dangers ahead.

Don't worry about me—I'll be fine.

Asterios

**ARIADNE—ONE DAY EARLIER**

Ariadne couldn't breathe for fear of being seen. If she was caught out here, on a boat of all places, she would be locked in her chamber until the wedding the next night. She had no intention of being at her own wedding.

She had never really worked a fishing ship before, although she had been on several of her father's warships and felt like she might have a good idea.

As she worked to make the ship ready for sail, she went over her plan in her mind. Quite simple, but it made her feel better to go over it again. Steal supplies from kitchen and clothing supplies. Wait for night and drug Theseus (who insisted on sleeping in her room, although he slept on the coach. "You should get used to the fact that we will be sleeping together soon!" He'd said. She'd refused to let him sleep in her bed with her, however.) Sneak out of castle. Steal a boat. Sail back to Crete. Apologize and beg forgiveness from everyone there—especially—no! She couldn't think of him right now. If she did, she might start crying and then she would make noise and then she'd be found. Best not to think of him at all.

Finally, the boat was ready to sail. She did one last double checking of her supplies to make sure she wasn't missing anything. Then, with a deep breath, she untethered the boat from the dock.

**ASTERIOS—PRESENT TIME**

The castle was full of people bustling around, shouting and calling to one-another. Apparently everyone was getting ready for some huge celebration that would be occurring that night. Asterios was pleased at the idea of getting to crash a big festivity for Theseus. It would make him feel better. As would slamming his fist into his face would. That, he was looking forward to doing.

He slipped up a stair-case and stealthily walked around another corner. And almost ran smack into Theseus. Luckily, the turd was looking down at a piece of parchment in his hand and failed to notice Asterios freezing in place, then ducking into a shadowed doorway.

As he watched, Theseus stopped and gripped the parchment so hard that it crinkled. His eyes darted from side to side rapidly, his face going redder with each line. Asterios felt his heart beat quickly with fear at being discovered, enjoyment at Theseus' obvious rage, and adrenaline at the prospect of being found and thus being able to pop Theseus in a place so hard that it would make him unable to have children ever.

"WHAT IS THIS!?" Shrieked Theseus, his eyes bulging and a vein protruding angrily from his red forehead.

"What, my lord?" Asked an anxious, sweating manservant, hurrying up to Theseus' side at the man's shout.

"THIS—THIS—THIS NOTE! I FOUND IT OUTSIDE OF ARIADNE'S ROOM! WHAT DOES IT MEAN SHE ESCAPED? HOW COULD YOU LET THIS HAPPEN? WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?"

"She who, my lord? You don't mean—"

"YES I MEAN ARIADNE! WHERE HAS SHE GONE? ANSWER ME FOOLISH MAN! I WANT EVERY SPARE MAN AND WOMAN TO BE OUT LOOKING FOR HER—NOW!"

Asterios watched in growing amazement and sudden fear as he realized something.

His trip here was pointless.

Ariadne was not here.

In fact, he didn't know where she was.

**ARIADNE: PRESENT DAY**

The wind was harsh against her little fishing ship.

Ariadne was having a hard time keeping the ship balanced, as she was unable to properly work the sails.

_Well, this was a stupid idea,_ she told herself bitterly as another wave surged over the side of her boat. She dropped some ropes that she thought helped her to work the sails and grabbed her bail bucket. Scooping large amounts of water and tossing it back over the side of her boat, Ariadne heard something truly frightening.

A shrill, harsh, shriek. It tore through her so suddenly that she couldn't even prepare herself. She staggered, clutching at her head and stomach, feeling pain burst inside of her. She backed up and bumped her calves on the edge of the boat. With a small shriek, she toppled over into the unruly sea.

Instantly, hands gripped her legs and yanked down. Furious hands, with strong, sharp fingers and fingernails. Scales whipped about her in a confusion of greens, blues and golds. She was lost in swirl of rushing water and tails. The hands pulled, yanked, tugged, and dragged her down. Fear drove a dagger through her. The shrill shrieking still continued and she struggled against the strong, unrelenting hands. She struggled to the surface.

It was no use. Whatever these creatures were, they were much, much stronger than her frail human body, weakened by lack of sleep, fear, and lack of nutrition.

As her breath burbled out of her lips, she watched as an ethereal face appeared before her. A beautiful woman with long, blonde hair that swirled in golden tendrils about her face; her eyes were wide and green and glowed with an inner light. Her skin was clear and white and glowed with the same color. Her plump lips parted in delight as she watched the lights fade from Ariadne's eyes.

_Welcome._

**ASTERIOS: PRESENT DAY**

He roared about his cabin as they sailed away from a frantic Athens.

Gone!

How could she leave? Did she truly think that he was so stupid as to truly leave her with that vile man?

In retrospect, he supposed that it had taken his father to note the fact that she had lied, but that didn't conceal the fact that she had thought that nobody would figure out her lies.

His crew was quietly furious with him. None of them were happy with having been left behind and drugged.

He couldn't blame them. He'd known this would happen.

He'd just thought he would have Ariadne.

His arms ached to hold her tight to him. She could be so lonely out there, by herself.

He longed to comfort her and tell her everything would be alright. She must be so scared.

He wanted to kiss her and hold her and never let her go. She must be missing love after spending a month in that retched man's company.

_I will find you._

**ARIADNE**

Her eyes blurred open.

Around her was a swirling whirl of blues, greens, and aqua.

Scales flashed in rays of watery gold that pierced through the blanket of blue. Green scales, blue, red, yellow, pink—every color imaginable.

She lay in a bed of seaweed and underwater flowers. Her head was cushioned by a sail that had sunk to the bottom of the sea. She felt groggy, slow, and sluggish. What had happened? Where was she?

Eerie music floated around her as she sat up. All around her were beautiful girls, some younger than she, some her same age, some older. But all appeared to be younger than twenty. Their skin glowed silver, white, gold, bronze, or golden brown. All had beautiful, long hair in the same variety of colors; reds, auburns, gold, yellows, blacks, browns, silvers, bronze…. Even some gleamed with strange accents of unnatural colors. Greens, purples, pinks, and blues flickered out of the corner of her eye; when she looked, the color was gone.

Surrounding all of them was a ruined building long since covered by water; it was a beautiful marble threaded through with black and gold. Arches crumbled and pillars lay on their sides. Hardly any were intact. Those that were intact were draped with exotically colored cloths and beads, jewelry and more; seashells adorned every available space; sea weed grew from the cracks of the stones that had once made up the floor.

Ariadne rubbed a hand against her head; a distant memory of a thin shriek broke through the fog in her mind. _Hands so strong grab her. _She whipped around to the hand; it was merely seaweed brushing against her, curling against her arm.

The scales flashed so brightly suddenly that Ariadne couldn't see for a moment. When her vision cleared she saw that the scales were actually tails and that the tails were connected to the most beautiful women she had ever seen. She herself was not as gorgeous as these women. She had vaguely noticed them before, but now she truly studied them.

Their skin ranged from the whitest white to the smooth gold of the Amazonian women that lived far from her homeland. Their hair ranged from golden-brown to golden-red. Her own hair and skin did not glow as theirs did. They had eyes that ranged from the greenest green to an amber-brown. Her eyes were not as large or attractively shaped. She herself was not as fully breasted or strongly built. They were beauty and strength embodied in a thin, sinewy, scaly body. She immediately felt embarrassed about her own body and pulled up the seaweed-weaved blanket up to her chin.

They gurgled at her in a strange, ethereal language that she could not understand. They jabbered at her, moving their elegant hands and whipping their tails in annoyance. Finally, a strangely familiar face neared her own; golden curls, inner-lit face with big blue eyes. She met her eyes with her own and held them. Ariadne suddenly felt the fear drain from her. The beautiful women leaned forward and gently kissed Ariadne's mouth.

Immediately Ariadne's head flung back, eyes dilating as information, knowledge, skills, and so many pictures flooded her mind. She knew the history of mermaids; their powers; their wants; their needs; she herself knew so much that she felt ready to burst. In the end, she fainted.

**ASTERIOS: THREE MONTHS LATER**

Months he had searched for his beloved. Not on any land was she to be found. He was so raged that he could barely see straight any more. He no longer spoke to anyone; he spent all his time alone, feeling despaired and upset. He couldn't understand it. So close, so very CLOSE! He had almost found her but that stupid man had let her slip between his fingers in his arrogance. WHY?

Who hated him up on Olympus? He growled at the mountain in the distance, and felt such a rage that he burst into full Minotaur form. If he couldn't have his love, than he didn't care anymore. He would take it up with those who had made him what he was. He tore for Olympus, determined to tear apart his creator. If Zeus could make him, maybe he could end.

He ran as fast as he had ever. It did not matter if he could not hold her or love her or be there for her. She was gone and someone was going to pay. Why not the beings who had created Theseus? Or those that had created him?

His surroundings quickly changed from flat farmland and villages to thickly forested and rocky terrain. The ground sloped up and became almost too steep even for him. The physical excursion caused sweat to flow down his chest and arms and face. It gave him something to focus on, the pull and movement and contraction of his muscles.

It was only then that he realized that he wasn't in his Minotaur form any more.

He slowed, and tried to force his body into the familiar shape he'd lived in for the past four months. It would not go. He growled in frustration. What was going on? He'd never lost control of his body before like this. The only times he'd been unable to turn were when Ariadne was around… Could she? Was she…?

_Calm your mind, Asterios._

The voice in his mind was cool and calm, like liquid, like water, running throughout his rage and washing it away. He stopped running, stopped straining, stopped breathing. Because before him was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.

Silver hair swooped and billowed around her body. Her skin was as white as snow, and glowed like the moon. Her lips were the palest pink, plump and perfectly shaped. Her eyes were like almonds, in shape, and with golden-amber coloring. Her cheeks were barely brushed with color, and her neck sloped into shapely shoulders, laid bare by her dress, which looped low on her arms, ran up to cover her, and draped around her body almost lovingly. Her legs, bare from the knee down, were the whitest, mostly shapely he had ever seen or imagined. In short, she was breath-taking.

"Who—who are you?" He breathed, surprised to find he could.

_My name is Venus, Asterios. I am goddess both of love and of beauty. I am here because I have heard of your plight._

Asterios blinked, and suddenly remembered his reason for running up this mountain side, for raging up to the gods' home. Ariadne. He shook his head, clearing it from the fog of the goddess' beauty.

_Yes, that's right; I know of your love for your lady. And I can help you._

Asterios felt excitement roll through his body. Ariadne!

_I have enjoyed watching your love story unfold; I'm sorry to say I was the one who sent Theseus after Ariadne. I had nothing to do with your love for each other, however. That was true love. However, now she is trapped under the ocean with the mermaids. She has been there for three months since her running away from a man who does not know real love. She has forgotten who she really is, overwhelmed by the world that she now lives in. She has killed, Asterios. She does not know it, but she is like a siren in her beauty; she calls men to her, and then drowns them when realizing they are not who she is looking for, though she knows not what she looks for._

The news of his love struck him so suddenly. Stuck under the sea? With mermaids? He would go for her, save her, recover her memory for her. He would, if it was the last thing he did—.

_Calm your mind, Asterios. I shall help you, but only if you promise not to become the thing my family has made you. Your gift to me shall be the gift of your minotaur. Give me the ability to be your dark side, and I shall give you the tools and way to get her back. Do we have an agreement?_

Give up his other self? It was not another self, but his only self. He rather thought that the human aspect as himself was his other self. And then he truly thought of what it would mean to be rid of the being inside himself. To be free of the monster who had made him a feared man in his country. The creature that had protected him and Ariadne in turn. The creature that had caused him pain and a way for escape four months ago. To be free of it, and to lose it…

_Well?_

**ARIADNE: PRESENT DAY**

The swish and burble of the sea around her was a companion to the melody she played upon her seaweed-strung harp. All around her, beautiful women played various instruments similar to hers.

She was one of them now. She couldn't even remember of a time when she was not. Although she did not yet have the tail of her sisters—that was an honor not yet bestowed upon her—she did have one of the best singing voices amongst her sisters, and was always the one who called down the most men to drown. Her skin now glowed white like the stars, and was soft and supple. She wore no clothes—none of them did, for that was a part of their human lives, not their new ones—and her hair had grown long to cover her. Her eyes glowed just as her skin did, and she smiled again, unlike that month with the hated man. Her pride and joy, however, was her singing voice.

For that was what they did. They sang down men, sailors, mostly, to swim with them and be with them for the shortest of breaths. Because they were only with them for as long as their breath could last. Then they went to Hades, and they were left to mourn their bodies by eating their flesh.

All of her sisters were like her; they had all been wronged by a man at one point or another, and had gone to the sea to escape. Most had been raped, others had been left by their men; still others had been beaten by their lovers. To run away, they had gone the only place where they thought that they couldn't be found.

Every human gave off a different note. Men were low and deep, women high and sweet. The sisters had all given off an identical sound; the anguished cry of a broken heart, for it was hearts that sang to them.

Even now, Ariadne tilted her head and stopped playing her harp as the deep baritone of men sang to her. She smiled her delight to her sisters, and burbled the welcoming news. The music of the instruments stopped, only to be replaced by their eerie voices.

They swam up to the men's boat, calling out in their strange language for them to come, come, come with us!

Ariadne looped up and around, and then surged up and out of the water, turning in an arc over one side of the boat and across the other, to land on the other side. Her sisters danced as she did in the water, flipping their tales and flashing their smiles as they sang the men's heart songs.

One man leaned over the edge, waving and smiling dopily. Then two leaned out, then three, then six, then twelve. They soon were all leaning over. The sisters each chose a man, looped her arms about his neck, and kissed him. They then pulled away and beckoned them closer. Enticed, the men fell into the water, to be dragged to his blissful death.

Ariadne had her arms wrapped about a man's chest as her sisters did, but instead of pulling him under right away, she studied his face. Bearded, dark eyes, dark skin, but yellow and crooked teeth; his skin and eye color were right, and she had a vague memory of a hairy face she loved, but the teeth were all wrong. And so she ducked under water to drown the man in her arms.

It was then that she noticed one baritone heart that was not already under water. It sounded different, sweeter, and it called to her to come, come, come.

Letting the man drift underwater, bubbles of his last breath following her, she rose to the surface, and seized the boats edge. She peered over the edge.

A man sat, calmly, cross-legged at the base of the mast. His eyes were closed, his hands folded in his lap. He seemed to be waiting for... Something.

Ariadne prepared to pull herself up onto the deck, her curiosity spiking, when a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her down.

The blonde haired, silver-faced beauty looking back at her was the one who had changed her, and shown her the err of her ways. Cypris, named for the goddess Aphrodite, spoke to her urgently, telling her no, no, no. Do not go to that man.

Ariadne, for the first time since meeting Cypris, disobeyed her order.

She rose quickly, twisting out of the other mermaid's hold and lunged for the side of the boat. She was half-way up when more hands grabbed at her ankles. She gave a cry and struggled against their relentless pull downward.

_Hands, sharp and strong, pull her down underwater. No! She mustn't go underwater! She must get back to Crete, to find and apologize to—_

A pair of warm, soft, gentle hands grasped her arms gently but firmly. She looked up into the man's face and blinked, recognition dawning throughout her entire being.

– _Asterios_

**CRETE: PRESENT DAY**

The time under the sea was a time neither spoke of, as was the month after her disappearance. They didn't pester nor did they pry into that time of their lives in which they were without each other. Ariadne often went to the small temple of Hebe, goddess of forgiveness, to atone for her actions as a mermaid.

Asterios often prayed to Zeus, to ask for clemency for thinking to rip the god apart in his rage.

Both prayed thanks to Venus— Aphrodite—the goddess of love and beauty, for giving them a way to find each other again.

After they were married, they had a daughter, and they named her Cytherea, for the goddess.

Ariadne never asked why Asterios never returned to his first shape, and he never told her what he had had to give up to find her. However, their first child, a daughter, was the finest tracker and hunter in the realm once she grew old enough; her sense of smell, her eyesight, her strength and her ability with the spear were unrivaled.

The story went around that the Minotaur of Crete was dead, killed by Theseus. Ariadne now supposedly lived with Dionysus up on Mount Olympus after having been deserted on an island by Theseus. They and all of Crete knew this story to be not true, but they let it spread and become known far and wide as the truth, so as to protect their small growing family.

Ariadne was on the balcony outside her bedchamber, eyes closed, listening to the wind rustle through the trees framing her balcony. She listened to the stars, and sent another silent prayer of thanks up to the goddess' Venus and Hera, for her husband and for her child. As if in reply, she felt a second stirring in her belly.

Behind her, arms wound across her belly where another child grew, and a warm chest pressed against her back.

She sighed contentedly, and leaned into her husband as a star shot across the sky. She felt content. She felt at peace with the world.


End file.
